Dion had made it to the grand reopening of Amphitrite, as he said he would, but something was off. I could tell his mind wasn’t there, wasn’t with me, and neither was his heart. He was too wild, too spontaneous to keep to one place for very long, and I was eternally glad for the time we did have together, even though it had just come to an end.
I even went on a small adventure into the Underworld with Thanatos. The only other person I’d known with the same amounts of moodiness and goofiness I had. Although, I’d only admitted that to him when we’ve both completely plastered. Not that many people knew that side of him.
I turned to look at him. Calix and Rommel were just behind Dionysos as we had been saying our goodbyes. “There has been an oil spill off the Californian shore. I need to get back to Nymphaeum and see what I can do to help.”
It was true. I had never been one for wanderlust, but I had the itch to travel. I wanted to see the world, to visit the places I never made it to before I became queen, before I became foam.
“But if you are pregnant,” Rommel mentioned softly, “it would be his, right?” I nodded. Dion had been the only person I’d been with since, well…since Poseidon abandoned Atlantis. “He has a right to know that you’re dealing with this Amph.”
We shoot off like a rocket as the water rises and propels us forward at the combined will of the sea gods. Dion is thrown back and lands on top of me. Charon lurches forward, loses his balance, and lands on top of Dionysos. I groan from the bottom of the dogpile. We sail through the mist at top speed, not even feeling the cold on this trip.
Then the ferry finally comes through, and we all see the source of the merriment. Dionysos stands next to Charon, laughing and clapping him on the back. Charon looks positively irate as he brings the ferry into the shallows so we may board. The sea god laughs, and the Amphitrite jumps for joy, splashing the water as she giggles.
Once my muscles loosened up, I leaned back and closed my eyes, letting the water lift my legs and carry me around. With my head half-submerged, all I could hear was my own breathing and the gentle trickle of water bouncing every surface around. I loved floating like this. It made me feel like I was part of the water. Like seafoam on a gentle wave. Seafoam!
I finally turned off the water and reached for a towel to dry off. As I did, I looked at myself in the mirror, and for a split second, I didn’t even recognize who I was. “What the hell is going on here?” I said out loud to no one in particular. Was it just nervous energy leftover from the stress of the tournament? Was it jitters from making it to the finals? I had no clue, but I knew something was not right.
Tipping my head back on my second drink, I caught sight of something interesting on the ceiling. Some kind of shadow? While looking up, I did a few of my patented three-sixties, admiring the decor and looking for the shadow, but I did not see it again. Maybe it was a loop stuck in my mind from when Nike had floated down moments before.
I no longer worried about the storm raging inside. I opened my eyes and looked at the controlled chaos around me.
When we finally had our fill of fun, I stole Amphitrite away to Skellig Michael. We made love on the grass not too far from where Luke taught Rey how to control The Force a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. We rolled around and howled in drunken revelry when the moon came out. We danced and pounced on one another as the waves rose to meet the emotional state of their queen. The surge came as it went when we finally lay there on our back, completely spent.
She ran to me. I picked her up in my arms and twirled around as if we were filming the dramatic I will catch up to you at the gate before your airplane leaves type of scene from a rom-com. Of course, that made her blush profusely, and that was fine by me. I enjoyed making my Pheephee blush. Who would not take pride in seeing a goddess turn red at your whim?
Adrestia held her hand out for Mourgo to smell, but he already had the scent from her first step onto the trail. Instead, Mourgo leaned in and headbutted her on the cheek lightly. That made her giggle and give him scratches. What a charmer.
“Woe to ye of little faith. You actually had doubts? I even wore a tie.”
Reaching up to set the tie, Luis frowned at me. “It’s not your ability that I challenge, but your choices. I was half expecting you to choose something in tie-dye. And no, draping a tie around your neck does not count as wearing one.”
